5. Where are you wandering and where are you coming from and where are you straying to and what are you bewildered by while you have among you the progeny of your Prophet – they who are the guides towards right and speakers of truth?

6. Where are those who allege that they are firmly grounded in knowledge apart from us, while they lie and transgress against us, and harbour jealousy towards us because Allah, the Glorified, elevated us and lowered them, gave us and deprived them, put us in [His proximity] and expelled them; it is through us that guidance is granted and the blindness [of ignorance] is removed, not though them!

7. The most virtuous of good deeds is loving us and the most despicable of evil deeds is hating us.

7ـ أحْسَنُ الحَسَناتِ حُبُّنا، وأسْوَءُ السَّـيِّئاتِ بُغْضُنا.

8. The most fortunate of all people is one who knows our merits, seeks nearness to Allah through us, is sincere in his love for us, acts on that which we have entrusted to him and keeps away from that which we have forbidden, for this person is from us and he will be with us in the Eternal Abode.

13. To us return the ones who exceed the bounds and the ones who lag behind [come forward to] meet up with us.

13ـ إلَيْنا يَرْجِـعُ الغالِي، وبِنا يَلْحَقُ التّالِي.

14. Verily Allah, the Exalted, made an appraisal of the world and (from it) chose us, and He chose for us followers who would help us, be happy in our happiness and sad in our sadness, and give up their lives and wealth for our sake they are ones who are (considered to be) from us and unto us, and they will be with us in the gardens (of Paradise).

15. Verily our affair is difficult and arduous, rough and harsh, secret, hidden and veiled, none have access to it except the favoured angel, the appointed prophet or the believer whose heart Allah, the Glorified, has tested for faith.

16. Indeed here (and he pointed towards his chest) there is great knowledge; if only I could get someone who would bear it. Yes, I do find some who can understand but cannot be relied upon and would use the tools of religion for worldly gain or would dominate the people through the favours of Allah over His servants and through His authority over His friends; or [I find] one who is submissive to those who bear the truth but has no insight or intelligence, misgivings pierce into his heart at the first instance of doubt.

18. I am the allotter of hellfire, the treasurer of the gardens [of Paradise], the owner of the pond [of Kawthar] and the holder of the Elevations, and there is no Imam from among us, the household [of the Prophet], except that he knows those who are his sincere friends [and followers], and this is the meaning of the words of the Most High: ‘You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people’2.

21. I am the leader (ya‘sūb3) of the believers and wealth is the leader of the wicked.

21ـ أنَا يَعْسُوبُ المُؤْمِنينَ، والمالُ يَعْسُوبُ الفُجّارِ.

22. I will be with the Prophet of Allah, the blessings of Allah be upon him, and with me will be my progeny at the pond (so act upon our words and emulate our actions as we will vie at the pond [of Kawthar]), and we will verily drive away our enemies from it and let our close friends drink from it, and whoever takes a drink from it will never be thirsty after that again.

32. Indeed I raise myself such that there should be no need that my generosity cannot encompass, nor any ignorance that cannot be encompassed by my forbearance, nor any wrongdoing that my forgiveness cannot encompass, nor should there be a time that is longer than my time [spent in worship and righteous actions].

35. Certainly the Imams are the [only] vicegerents of Allah over His creation and the ones who explain His servants about Him; and none will enter Paradise except the one who recognizes them and is recognized by them and none will enter the hellfire except the one who rejects them and is rejected by them.

37. (In remembrance of the Prophet of Allah (s), he said): He conveyed [the message] from his Lord completely, such that nobody remained with any excuse [for not having accepted the message], he counselled his people as a warner and called [them] towards Paradise as a bringer of glad tidings.

39. Through us Allah opens and through us Allah seals, through us Allah effaces and confirms whatever He wills, through us Allah removes the time of difficulty [or intense thirst and drought] and through us Allah sends down rain; so let not the Deceiver deceive you concerning Allah.

40. Mingle with the people through that which they recognize and leave them in that which they reject, and do not burden them [by compelling them] to follow yourselves and us, for indeed our affair is difficult and arduous.

41. He (‘a) said about the Prophet of Allah (s): He left this world hungry but entered the next world in soundness. He did not lay one brick upon another [to make a house for himself] until he passed away and responded to the caller of his Lord.

44. Ask me before you lose me, for by Allah, there is no verse in the Qur’an but that I know about whom it was revealed and where it was revealed, in the plains or on the mountains, and indeed my Lord has gifted me with an intelligent heart and an eloquent tongue.

45. Remembering the Prophet of Allah (s), he (‘a) said: His practice was moderation, his action was right guidance, his speech was distinguishing [of truth from falsehood], his judgment was just, his words were articulate and his silence was the most eloquent speech.

46. Attach yourselves to the one who is between you and Allah, [and] you will be felicitous.

45ـ صِلُوا الَّذي بَيْنـَكُمْ وبَيْنَ اللّهِ تَسْعَدُوا.

47. Establish your bond with the one who is between you and Allah, [and] you will be felicitous in your final place of return [in the Hereafter].

46ـ صِلِ الَّذي بَيْنَكَ وبَيْنَ اللّهِ تَسْعَدْ بِمُنْقَلَبِكَ.

48. Remembering the Prophet of Allah (s) he said: [He was] a physician who moved about with his remedies, having readied his salves and warmed his instruments. He used these whenever needed for curing blind hearts, deaf ears and dumb tongues. He would take his cures to the places of negligence and sites of perplexity.

49. You should love of the progeny of your Prophet, for this is the right of Allah over you and this will obligate your right upon Allah. Do you not see that Allah has said ‘Say, I do not ask you any reward for it except love of (my) near relatives.’

52. The [leader and] guide must be truthful to his followers and must employ his intellect; and he must be from those who are inclined to the Hereafter, for it is from there that he came forth and to it will be his return.

54. He said while remembering the Messenger of Allah (s): He belittled this world, took it lightly and treated it with disdain; he knew that Allah willed to keep it away from him while He bestowed it to others as a trial.

56. For our hatred there are waves of wrath from Allah, the Glorified.

55ـ لِبُغْضِنا أمْواجٌ مِنْ سَخَطِ اللّهِ سُبْحانَهُ.

57. I have patched this shirt of mine so much that I am now ashamed of [taking it again to] the tailor. Someone asked me: Will you not discard it? I replied: Get away from me! Only at dawn do people speak highly of the [arduous] night journey.

63. If I wished to inform every man from among you of where he has come from and where he is going to and about all his affairs, I would do so, but I fear that you will take me and abandon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. However, I will convey it to the selected ones who are safe from that [fear]. By the One who sent him with truth and chose him above the creation, I do not speak save the truth. He (the Prophet) has informed me about all this and about the destruction of those who are destroyed and the salvation of those who are saved (and the consequences of this matter [of the caliphate]). He left nothing that I would encounter except that he put it into my ear and informed me about it.

70. They (i.e. the Imams) are the trustees of the secrets of the Messenger of Allah (s), the protectors of his mission, the container of his knowledge, the sanctuary of his wisdom, the caverns of his books and the mountains of his religion.

75. They are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance. Their forbearance (or wisdom) is conveyed to you from their knowledge, their silence from their speech (and their apparent from their hidden); they do not go against the truth (or the religion) nor do they differ in it, for it is among them as a silent speech and a truthful witness.

77. The world is never devoid of an establisher of the proof of Allah, either [as an] apparent and known [person] or [as a] hidden and unknown [person], so that the proof of Allah and His message does not become void.

78. No one from this nation can be compared to the progeny of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and no one who has benefitted from their blessings (i.e. the blessings of their knowledge and wisdom) will ever be equal to them.

79. People! There is no proof of Allah, the Glorified, on His earth greater than our Prophet, Muhammad (s), nor is there any wisdom more manifest than His book, the Glorious Qur’an and Allah, the Exalted, has not praised anyone from among you except he who holds fast to his rope and follows His prophet; and only he perishes, who perishes when he disobeys Him, goes against His commands and follows his vain desires. This is why the Almighty says ‘… let those who disobey His order beware lest an ordeal should afflict them or a painful chastisement befall them.’7

84. By Allah! If I were to spend a sleepless night on the thorns of al-Sa‘dān8 or be driven shackled in chains as a prisoner, it would be more acceptable to me than meeting Allah and His Prophet as an oppressor over any [of His] servants, or a usurper of any worldly possessions. And how can I oppress for the sake of the body which is fast moving towards destruction and is going to spend a long time [buried] in the earth?

85. The devout companions of the Messenger of Allah (s) know that I never disobeyed Allah, the Glorified, or His Prophet for even a moment; and I supported him in situations where the valiant ones retreated and when the feet were slow in moving forward with courage – Allah honoured me with [all] this. I spared no effort in his obedience, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, and I fought his enemies with all my might, and I put my life on the line in order to protect him, and he divulged to me from his knowledge that which he did not divulge to anyone other than me.

86. Knowledge has led them to real understanding and they have acquired the spirit of conviction. They take easy what the easygoing regard as hard. They are comfortable with that which the ignorant are repelled by. They live in this world with their bodies but their spirits are in the higher realm. They are the vicegerents of Allah on His earth and the callers to His religion. Ah, ah! How I yearn to see them.

87. They are the supports of Islam and those entrusted with its protection. Through them the truth is restored in its rightful place and falsehood is removed from its position with its tongue is severed from its root. They have understood religion through reflection and contemplation, not by mere hearsay and [blind following of] what is narrated.

93. We are the [family] tree of Prophethood, the station of revelation, the ones upon whom angels descend, the fountains of wisdom and the sources of knowledge. Our helpers and lovers await mercy while our enemies and haters await wrath.

94. We are the nearest ones [to the Prophet (s)], the companions, the custodians [of the treasures of Paradise] and the doors [of knowledge and wisdom]; and houses are not entered but through their doors, and whoever enters them without going through their doors is [considered] a thief and is not spared punishment.

95. Far be it! If there was no command of piety, I would have been the most cunning of all the Arabs.

94ـ هَيْهاتَ لَوْلاَ التُّقى لَكُنْتُ أدْهَى العَرَبِ.

96. I have never rejected Allah from the time that I came to know Him.

95ـ ما أنْكَرْتُ اللّهَ تَعالى مُنْذُ عَرَفْتُهُ.

97. I have never doubted in the truth since the time it was shown to me.

96ـ ما شَكَكْتُ فِي الحَقِّ مُذْ أُرِيتُهُ.

98. I have never lied nor have I been accused of lying.

97ـ ما كَذَبْتُ ولاكُذِّبْتُ.

99. I have never strayed [from the right path] nor has anyone gone astray because of me.

98ـ ما ضَلَلْتُ ولاضُلَّ بِي.

100. No verse [of the Qur’an] was revealed but that I knew the occasion of its revelation and where it was revealed, [whether] in daytime or night, on a mountain or a plain; and my Lord has gifted me with an intelligent heart and an eloquent tongue.

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